Contributed by Jenny Black, Brownfield Specialist, PPM Consultants
The EPA has released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Brownfields grant Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs), opening a new window for communities to secure funding for assessment, cleanup, and multipurpose brownfield projects. These highly competitive grants can be transformative for local governments, tribes, and nonprofits that are ready with a strong strategy, clear target areas, and a compelling story of community need and revitalization.
EPA has released the FY26 Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) grant guidelines using a newly streamlined NOFO template aligned with updated federal grants guidance. All applications are due January 28, 2026. While the core elements of the program remain familiar, the reorganized format—covering eligibility, threshold criteria, narrative scoring elements, and submission requirements—means returning applicants will encounter the same content presented in a more structured, compliance-focused way.
FY26 also represents the final year of enhanced Brownfields funding supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). With this being the last cycle to access BIL’s historic investment, competition is expected to intensify, making accuracy, clarity, and alignment with EPA’s updated criteria more critical than ever.
For Assessment Coalition Grants (EPA-OLEM-OBLR-25-05), EPA has removed previous restrictions on who may serve as the lead coalition member, opening the door for a wider range of eligible entities. Each coalition member must now define a distinct, non-overlapping target area located in a separate municipality or jurisdiction—heightening the importance of early planning and coordination.
Across all MAC grant types, the program continues to place strong emphasis on community need, health disparities, and measurable redevelopment outcomes.
Why this matters for PPM clients
The FY26 MAC NOFOs introduce a more structured, federally aligned format that places greater emphasis on clarity, documentation, and precision. With reorganized narrative criteria, expanded requirements for defining target areas, clarified procurement and contractor disclosures, and new expectations around community health, resilience, and equitable impacts, applicants who respond thoughtfully to these updates will have a significant advantage. Communities that rely on templates from prior years or treat the NOFO as a routine submission risk overlooking critical new details—and losing valuable scoring opportunities.
PPM Consultants has supported communities through numerous shifts in Brownfields policy, eligibility, and evaluation standards. Our familiarity with these evolving requirements—combined with a detailed analysis of the FY26 changes—positions us to help clients convert technical information, target area definitions, coalition structures, and community needs into clear, defensible, and competitive narratives that align directly with EPA’s updated scoring framework.
Introducing: Brownfields Grant Tip of the Day
To help communities quickly adapt to the new FY26 MAC NOFO requirements, PPM Consultants is launching a Brownfields Grant Tip of the Day email series. Each short message delivers one concrete, immediately applicable tip tied directly to this year’s updates—covering threshold criteria, procurement disclosures, mapping expectations, budget precision, and more.
The purpose is simple: give local governments, tribes, regional agencies, nonprofits, and environmental partners clear guidance they can act on right away during the tight NOFO window. By the end of the application period, subscribers will have built a practical, check-off list of best practices they can apply directly to their narratives, attachments, and internal planning—helping teams stay on track, avoid common scoring losses, and strengthen competitiveness without adding to their workload.
How to sign up and get started
Organizations that plan to pursue FY26 Brownfields funding—or are simply exploring whether to apply—are encouraged to subscribe to PPM’s Brownfields Grant Tip of the Day email list at: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/ZZCE1p9. Once subscribed, you will begin receiving short, focused, daily emails during the active NOFO period to help ensure your application’s success.
For communities ready to move from tips to tailored strategy, PPM Consultants can also provide one-on-one assistance with eligibility questions, coalition formation, and narrative development under the FY26 Brownfields MAC NOFOs. To discuss how these new guidelines affect your community’s specific brownfield challenges and opportunities, contact PPM directly or include a note when you sign up for the email campaign so our team can follow up.